Love Panic
by SetsunaNoroi
Summary: The survivors are rescued, but rest is hard to find. Nick meets someone from a past he would rather leave behind, but not all problems can be fled from. Ellis finds family and friends, but can he keep both them and the conman who is slipping away?


Geez, I really should have started this fanfiction a while ago, but I've been dragging my feet on it, mostly waiting for 'The Passing' to be available to download. It wasn't exactly what I hoped for, but it was fun none the less.

Well, the obvious. I don't own Left 4 Dead the video game or any of the characters therein. It all belongs to Valve. Good for them.

This is a story for Nick and Ellis. It's yaoi and has many adult themes in it. If you have anything against this sort of story, you may not want to read it. It's set after the events of the game, after they'd been rescued. I read over an interview that the survivors were being evacuated to cruise liners. I liked the idea of them actually getting somewhere safe, so I decided to write a fiction where they all struggle to get on with a normal life in such strange circumstances, especially Ellis and Nick.

Chapter 1: Rescue's Resort

Nick was more than aware how cynical he must have sounded to the others when he had stated his suspicions about the military in New Orleans, but he thought he was being the most realistic out of all of them. They were immune, yes, but he had never really trusted authority figures before, especially concerning the wonderful little government system they had. He would not have been surprised at all if a long wall with a firing squad was what was waiting to greet him in reward for his troubles to get rescued. He could just see himself getting lined up in front of a fully armed military personal, informed that in order for the great nation to survive in the face of the great calamity it was facing, blah, blah, blah, he was going to need to be taken care of.

Sorry, boy. Can't risk it.

Of course, it's not like he had much of a choice. Coach, Ellis and Rochelle were all perfectly fine to run for rescue. He had to admit, for most of the trip he was just going along with what they wanted for convenience. They all knew they needed each other to survive, but three could get on almost as well as four. The sad fact, he needed them as a whole more than they needed him as just one more person who could shoot a gun.

He didn't think Coach had really meant it when he'd suggested the conman stay behind in the safe room, but it had proven the point well enough. He had to go across the bridge, had to chance that there was one time the universe was going to decide it wouldn't be funny to fuck him over. They had one shot to get out of hell, and Nick would admit his chances of survival were much, much better trying toput his trust in CEDA rather than waiting for the zombie bastards to rip him apart.

It was a gamble**,** but hey, that's what he did. He just wished the others would recognize the fact that it was in fact a gamble. Cynic or not, he was still alive because of the way he thought. Suspecting every situation could turn out the worst possible way kept him prepared, and that was long before he had come to Savannah. They could certainly stand to lose their 'Everything is gonna be alright now' attitude.

He'd feel safe when every single zombie stopped moving and he was back in a ritzy hotel with a few women to keep him company, and not one moment before.

Still, it was probably that collectiveattitude the three shared that had kept him alive. They'd never left him, never abandoned him to some Hunter or Jockey, and he'd certainly been attacked enough times for them to prove they wanted him around. Even if he had stubbornly sat down in that safe room and refused to go any farther, he just couldn't imagine them leaving without him. They just didn't seem to have it in them to leave anyone behind. Not Coach, Rochelle or Ellis.

He snorted. Especially not Ellis. The kid was like an abandoned puppy. Show him some attention, just the least bit of affection, and suddenly he wanted to stick to you like you had offered to adopt him and take him home to a bowl of food and chew toys. He was so damn loyal, almost to the point of being stupid, but Nick would be a fool not to appreciate it.

Rochelle and Coach were okay in their own right, and they had certainly watched his back, but he knew they were doing it for the same reason he was. They all increased their chances of staying alive by sticking together. So what if he was the only one willing to admit it? The two kept him alive because he would no doubt return the favor to them, and no other reason. He certainly had never gone out of his way to be nice to them socially. They couldn't possibly consider him a friend, and he was perfectly content with that.

But Ellis? He really did care about everyone, wanted them to survive because he liked them. Nick didn't have a single doubt in his mind that the hick probably thought they'd stick together forever, telling them stories of his buddies for the rest of his life. He watched out for them because he was worried about them living, not his own odds of making it out alive decreasing. The times Ellishad saved his ass far outweighed the actions of Coach and Rochelle put together. Somehow he was just always there, no doubt just waiting for one of his friends to be threatened to keep them safe.

He suppose he appreciated having the kid around, and not just for safety reasons. Not that he'd ever tell him that. Nick would never be able to go back to his old life peacefully if Ellis thought they were friends. As it was, he knew separating would be hard on the boy. Why make it harder on him with illusions of friendship?

He rested his chin in his hand, watching out the window of the helicopter. Water was still below them, the waves moving in almost a hypnotizing pace. He found himself wondering just where they were going, and just how safe was it going to be. Perhaps they were evacuating them to a completely other country. Somehow he doubted it though. He couldn't really see any other nation being willing to deal with this, to risk the same thing happening to them.

Or had it already? He didn't have much news of the outside world anymore. Perhaps everyone else was going through the exact same thing? Maybe they were all screwed, and he just didn't know about it yet.

"Hey! Will y'all look at that shit! Woo! We made it!"

His thoughts of the world ending because of a lousy sickness was suddenly interrupted when Ellis had yelled. He would have jumped in surprise, but instead he was grunting in pain. The lousy hick had jumped on him in his seat, practically climbing on top of him as he shoved his face close to the small window of the helicopter. He was so damn skinny too, it was hardly comfortable when he propped his hands on Nick's lap to keep himself steady, his eyes shining as apparently something outside was keeping his attention.

Nick was about to shove him off and yell at him about personal space, but when he got an elbow in his chest, it knocked the wind out of him. He coughed hard, suddenly imagining himself having gotten on the helicopter all alone, waving and laughing like a lunatic when the hillbilly was left behind. For some reason Ellis was bawling like a baby in the fantasy. It was a sick sort of pleasure, and it certainly kept him from wrapping his hands around the boy's throat.

"I jes' can't believe we made it y'all. I mean, course I though' we were gonna make it, but shit, I wasn' really expecting that down there!"

"Ellis honey, that's great and all, but Nick is turning pretty red with you on top of him like that," Rochelle stated, looking more amused than worried about the conman.

"Whu?" he asked before he turned his gaze to Nick, seeing the man's glaring face just an inch from his own. He immediately straightened up and backed off, scratching the back of his neck and giving a little laugh. "Heh. Sorry, Nick. Didn' mean to."

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered as he looked out the window again. "Just what the hell has you so excited anyway?"

He was a little surprised when he saw. Even as annoyed as he was with his behavior, he could understand Ellis' reaction. A long, beautiful cruise ship was resting on the water and the obvious descent of the chopper made it pretty clear this was in fact their destination. It was the kind of ship that people with plenty of money to blow got on for their vacations and relaxation. He doubted Ellis had ever seen anything so fine before. No wonder he was excited.

"Well, it's certainly not a run down hospital," he grumbled, not wanting to let anyone know he was just as impressed, if not shocked. He'd been expected some refugee camp made out of tents and a large fence, or perhaps some large stone building similar to a prison. As someone who often enjoyed the finer things in life, he couldn't deny this was a definite step in the right direction to having his normal life back.

"Lined up and shot, huh?" Coach laughed as he saw the scenery as well from his own window. "When's that scheduled? Right after the sun bathing and back massages?"

"Ha ha," he said dryly. "Don't let your guard down. Unless we somehow ended up in an alternate universe during the flight, we're still dealing with the people who tried to bomb us just a while ago."

"Yeah, but they didn' mean to bomb us, Nick. They were bombing those zombies. Heck, we were jes' in the way," Ellis reasoned as he smiled.

"How's that make it any better?" Nick asked, annoyed with the boy.

"Well, it's not like they meant to. Hell, these things happen, you know? I mean, it's like this one time me and Keith were-"

"Ellis, not interested," he said bluntly.

"Okay," he said with a shrug, still smiling.

It didn't take long for the helicopter to land, setting down on the deck softly. The door opened, letting in a lot more light thanthe windows had and Nick squinted a bit as he made his way out.

It wasn't quite the reception he had expected either. Instead of twenty**-**odd guards he had expected to grab him, he was met by one young man who smiled brightly at him, a clipboard and pen in hand. He was dressed in the uniform of someone who was in the Army, though his fatigues were sloppy, his hat on backwards and jacket missing. Nick immediately figured he was an idiot, especially how he kept damn smiling, but did notice the pistol at his side. The conman didn't make it a point to be the first of the group to approach him.

"Hello," he greeted them. "Welcome to the Bishop, one of the rescue camps for CEDA. My name's Mark, and I've been assigned to give you your initiation and tour. If you have any questions, feel free to ask at any time. First, I'm going to need your full names and if possible, for you to produce I.D.'s. It's okay if you don't have them, but it makes the paperwork a lot easier."

Three of the four were more than happy to show the young man their identifications. They all still had theirs, which seemed to really surprise Mark, but when he looked up at Nick, the man merely shrugged.

"Must have lost it when I was fighting for my life and missing rescues left and right," he said, crossing his arms.

Mark blushed suddenly and looked down at his clipboard. This was obviously not the first time he'd had to hear the less than complimentary comments about how CEDA had been handling the situation. Rochelle smacked him in the arm and Nick sighed before pulling out his wallet and producing his identificationas well.

"Okay," Mark said, seeming to get back into his groove once he had all their names written down. "The first thing we need to take care of is getting you sanitized. Just about everyone here had to fight theirway through the hoards, but of course there's still health issues. We'll need to get blood tests and a full physical. Before that though, I'm sure you'll be happy to hear a shower is going to be waiting for you."

"Boy, you can have half my blood if it means a shower and change of clothes," Rochelle chuckled.

"A meal wouldn't be frowned at either," Coach said. "Ain't had nothing butjunk food for weeks."

"Don't worry," he reassured. "We want to make the transition for you as easy as possible. I'll arrange for a fast meal while you're all getting cleaned up."

He led them off deck and down several hallways. Nick observed the many doctors going around along with military workers, but oddly enough, he didn't spot any survivors.

"Hey, where's everyone else?" he asked, feeling a bit suspicious.

"Oh, it's still pretty empty around here," Mark answered. "This is actually the third ship that's been set up. A cruiser can only hold so many people. We only have about a hundred here so far that isn't part of the crew or volunteers. Right now the cafeteria is open, so I think most of them are getting something to eat. Getting through processing doesn't take too long though, so I'm sure you'll be meeting the others before too long. Anyway, here we are."

He was standing in front of a door that led into a gym. Leading them inside, he pointed to the a set of doors on the far right of the room.

"You need to use those showers first, since you don't have rooms assigned to you yet," he explained. "There's wrapped soap and shampoo already set up for you, along with changes of clothes. Just leave your old clothes by the lockers and I'll take care of them."

"And what's going to happen to our stuff?" Nick asked.

"Well, it's going to be burnt of course," Mark replied, smiling as if he'd just been told some sort of joke. "What did you expect?"

Ellis immediately grabbed his trucker hat off of his head and held it close to his chest.

"Burn 'em?" he asked. "But... but Keith gave me this hat. I ain't gonna let it get destroyed."

Nick had to agree, but he was a bit more concerned about his own suit than anything else. His suit had seen blood, grime, shit, gore, and whole lot else. He'd almost killed himself with the effort of trying to get it clean every time they got to a safe house with running water. Hearing it was going to be chucked in a fire was not putting him in a good mood.

"Boy, this is the last stuff we'll ever have that connects us to our old lives," Coach said, not sounding pleased either. "You just expect us to throw it away?"

"I'm sorry," Mark said. "But it's policy. Don't worry though. We give you plenty of clothes. But we need to do all we can to make sure to minimize any chance of infection. Just because almost everyone is immune, doesn't mean there isn't a risk to finding someone who isn't. We'd hate for anything to happen to anyone."

"He does have a point," Rochelle admitted. "It's not like their asking for our first born child or anything."

Ellis pouted a little, and Nick had a feeling that damn hat was probably just as important to him as a kid.

"Oh, for fuck's sake Overalls," he muttered before turning to Mark. "Look, it's just a damn hat. Pressure wash it or something. If we can get cleaned, that stupid thing can."

The military personal looked entirely uncomfortable as he glanced at the four, but his shoulder's drooped and sighed.

"I guess I can radio in and ask about it. But don't expect anything. I'm just going to ask. If I'm told no, you'll have to bring it up with my superiors," he said. "For now, just get cleaned up."

The group separated as Rochelle wentinto the locker rooms marked for the women. Nick walked in front of a open locker and quickly stripped. He was still a little pissed about his own suit, but he supposed out of everything, it wasn't that damn bad. Being rescued and given a fancy place like this, not to mention it wasn't like he was going to be stuck here forever, he could let this go. It's not as if he couldn't get another one later once this whole mess was behind him and just a bad memory.

"Man, I can't believe they're going to try and take my hat," Ellis whined as he changed next to him, yanking off his shirt roughly before dropping his pants and underwear, kicking them off. "Ain't they got no respect? Heck, if I gotta smuggle it in somehow, I will."

"Ellis," Nick warned as he took a step away from him. A whole row of lockers and the kid had to change within five inches of him? "Get away from me."

"But it's not fair!" he cried, waving his arms like a lunatic, taking a step closer. It was amazing how it made certain things bounce a bit.

"Knock it off!" Nick yelled, throwing his jacket at the kid's face. "For the love of God Ellis, show some damn restraint!"

Grabbing the small bar of soap and bottle of shampoo that had been in the locker, he stormed off to find a stall to get washed in, his face red with both anger and embarrassment.

"What's wrong with him?" Ellis asked confused, still holding Nick's jacket.

Coach only shook his head.

"Boy, you had the same problem when you were high school," he muttered before getting undressed himself.

#---------#

The water was better than Nick had hoped it would be. Itwas hot and soothing, easing away knots he'd had in his back for a while, and the pressure was at just the right level. He took his time to wash off, scrubbing away grime that had been clinging to his skin far too long. He had to admit, even if someone came in and shot him that very moment, he would have died happy.

Smearing the shampoo in his hair, he sighed a bit as he massaged it in. Amazing how the simple little things taken for granted waswhat he missed the most. The gambling, the smoking and drinking, the women, hell he did miss all of it, but it all seemed surprisingly petty compared to this pure bliss of just being able to get cleaned up.

He was looking forward to getting back to that sort of thing too, but it seemed to him it was perfectly fine to wait a little longer for it.

A quick knock at his stall made him look up, both curious and annoyed.

"What?" he snapped out in irritation.

"What's takin' you so long, man?" Ellis' voice drifted to him through the heavy sounds of the spraying of water. "It's been thirty minutes now."

Nick growled in annoyance. Thirty_ years_ away from Ellis would be too short.

"Just give me a minute," he said, washing away the rest of the shampoo out of his hair. Snagging the towel he'd hung up away from the water, he dried off quickly and wrapped it around his waist.

Stepping out of the shower, he saw the younger man grinning as he held out some folded clothes for him. It wasn't too much, a pair of jeans, along with a black shirt, socks, and a pair of underwear on top. Ellis was dressed in the exact same thing, and Nick figured this was now their 'uniform'. His nose wrinkled in disgust. He did not wear jeans unless he absolutely had to, and that was usually just when he was pulling a con job. Not every character he'd had to play dressed in suits. But this was clearly one of those 'have to' times. He took it without any outward complaint.

"So," he said conversationally as he began to get dressed. He pointed his back to Ellis as he pulled the clothing on, hating how it was a bit tight. It was at least one size too small. "Are you going to be able to keep your hat?"

It was a lame thing to talk about, but he couldn't think of anything else, and didn't want for silence to hang in the air too long. Ellis had a bad tendency to fill those silences with drawn out stories of Keith.

"Oh!" he said brightly, and Nick at once received his answer. "Well, course at first the guy wasn' gonna say fer sure that it wasn't no big deal, but I let 'em know good and proper that it was special to me. It's gonna get washed till I swear that thing will shine all pretty and-"

"A simple yes would have sufficed, Ellis," he said, now dressed and turning to him, though he was smiling. God that kid loved to talk. Probably drove his parents nuts when he was a kid.

Reaching out, he ruffled the boy's hair, feeling much nicer now that he was cleaned up. Ellis smiled softly under the treatment, his face going a little red. Nick figured it was because he hardly showed the boy this sort of affection. He supposed even he had it in him to be friendly every once in a while though.

"Nick?"

"Hm?" he asked, dropping his hand. "What is it?"

"I jes... I wanted to say thank you. Y'know, for stickin' up for me about the hat. I-"

"Don't mention it," he replied casually. "Not that big of a deal."

A small silence followed, the younger man smiling. It was a soft one, not the broad grin he usually wore, but it looked nice to Nick all the same.

"Ro and Coach are waitin' for us," Ellis informed him after a moment. "So's Mark."

The way he suddenly frowned made Nick laugh, and he didn't even know why.

"You don't like him?" he asked.

Ellis just shrugged and walked away. Nick followed after him, feeling that he sort of agreed. He himself didn't have any reason to dislike the man, but he didn't suppose it was any worse than Ellis feeling the same way because of his hat. It was a pretty dumb reason, but at least he had one. Nick just didn't care for most people and had never seen the reason to change. Still, he'd never seen Ellis show dislike for anyone period. Even if it wasn't very obvious in the boy's demeanor, it was something different.

He wasn't surprised to see Rochelle and Coach in the exact same clothing, simple jeans and a black t-shirt. He felt frustrated suddenly. It was feeling less and less like an expensive boat and more like a prison with every passing second. He'd only ever been in once, and it had been a very short stretch considering all the crimes he'd committed in his lifetime, but he had still hated it. He had a feeling he wasn't going to care too much for this place either all of a sudden.

"All cleaned up?" Mark asked. It was a redundant question, but none of them bothered to point it out, instead just nodding. "Great. Alright, we have some doctors ready to look you over, and I arranged some sandwiches and drinks to be waiting for you in the waiting room. After that I'll take you to the room that's been assigned for you. You'll have everything you need there, spare clothes, beds, toiletries, that sort of thing. It is going to be a bit crowded though. We need to keep it packed. Never know when other survivors will come, and rearranging rooms and everything to make room later is just too much of a hassle."

Nick was strangely reminded of how much Ellis loved to talk, and was very tempted to tell the kid to shut the fuck up. He tuned out most of it, the schedule of the ship, the paper work they would need to do. It all sounded much too routine and stupid to him. He could feel the noose tightening around his throat already. He didn't like the government knowing this much about him, but from the sounds of it, he was expected to give out a lot of information. It's not like there wasn't a warrant out for his arrest, he was too smart to come nearly that close to getting caught by what he did, but he felt he was smart for being wary.

"And of course we'll try to contact anyone you might know," Mark concluded. Nick only caught that little bit because Ellis suddenly looked very excited, practically hopping up and down. The conman remembered how much he had talked about his friends and family, sure they were all still okay.

He wondered morbidly if Ellis even had a reason to be excited.

#---------#

The physical wasn't nearly as bad as Nick thought it would be. He was assigned an older gentleman as the doctor to look him over, which he wasn't pleased about, but the man wasn't interested in talking, just getting his job done, so it was all good to him. A fast inspection of his body told them both nothing was broke, though he was bruised all over. He was told pain killers would do him over if he felt anything worse than a twinge, but he had gotten so numb to pain, he rarely felt anything that wasn't serious these days.

He got his blood taken and was forced to give the guy a urine sample. The old bastard insisted on watching, as if he had a jar of someone else's piss to replace his with. It was annoying as fuck, but he got through it. In a short time he'd be on a bed and sleeping anyway. If he didn't make too much of a fuss over the pony show, it only meant it went by faster.

Afterwards, he was handed a clipboard and told to quickly fill out his information. He supposed it was just a way to save time through processing. The doctor certainly didn't need to know half the information the questions were asking. Or maybe he did. Who knew?

It was all standard stuff though. What his name was, where had he been when the infection hit, where had he been rescued, who was his next of kin. He filled it out quickly, not giving away anything that might incriminate him. Fifty question later that made him feel like he was in school taking a standardized test, he handed the paperwork back to the doctor. The old man looked it over without much comment, only nodding a few times as he hummed under his breath.

"Well," he said gruffly, "looks like all that's left is your first therapy session."

Nick's head immediately snapped up.

"My what?" he asked.

"Therapy," his doctor replied. "With a, you know, mind doctor."

Nick arched an eyebrow when the man twirled his finger near his head for the universal sign of crazy. What, did he think he was five? What was next, a damn lollipop?

"Why do I need to talk to a therapist?" he demanded.

"Boy, what you just went through, what everyone has gone through, someone to talk to is definitely a must around here. Most people are half-crazy when they get here."

"I'm not most people, doc," he replied coldly, but the doctor seemed to have developed convenient hearing loss, because he didn't respond. Nick wished he still had his gun. He had the strongest urge to shoot the bastard.

"All right," he said, "there's Dr. Hunlock at nine o'clock tomorrow. I think he'll do fine for you."

"Oh come on doc," Nick protested. "If I'm going to get saddled down with someone who is going to insist I talk about my feelings and shit, can't I at least get a woman?"

The doctor only ignored him again, opening up the plastic curtain to let Nick out, and waited for him to leave. Grumbling, he left, his irritation boiling in his stomach. Therapist. Yeah, right. Going back to the waiting room, that was nothing more than a large suite, separated only from the 'examination' rooms by simply plastic hangings. Rochelle was the only one that was finished so far, and she flashed him a soft smile.

"Felt like I was almost getting experimented on in there," she stated. "I know they need to make sure, but it's still..."

"Bullshit?" he asked.

"Uncomfortable," she said, giving him a look. He only shrugged.

"Nick, you never change," she sighed. "And I don't know if that's a good or bad thing."

"All part of my charm," he said, smirking at her.

She shook her head and turned away, but he saw a flash of a smile anyway.

"Think we'll be bunked together?" she asked. "The four of us, I mean?"

"Probably," he said. "In this part of the game, I don't think they care much about women or men being separated. Those courtesies always fly out the window during a crisis. Besides, you heard Mr. Army Man. We're going to be packed in like sardines, even if there is room to give us plenty of space."

"Places like this can only hold a few thousand comfortably on the average, Nick," she told him. "Maybe five, if it's cramped like they say it is. If we're the third ship that just started taking refugees..."

"About ten thousand, at the most," Nick said softly.

"Over the whole country," she whispered. "That's... that's not a lot."

"More than I had expected," he replied calmly.

She glared at him, her chocolate brown eyes a little wet with tears that weren't overflowing, but was definitely there. He could tell she was angry with how cold he was acting about this whole thing, but they had all known from the beginning what his policy was. It was his own skin first. As long as he was alive, he wasn't going to get choked up over people he didn't even know. And the kind of people he _did_ know, well, they weren't worth it to get worked up over either.

"Life's harsh," he told her evenly. "Pretending it isn't true doesn't do anything but disappoint you. Hell, you worked with a news crew. You must know how often fucked up things happen for no good reason."

The young woman opened her mouth, looking like she would love to argue with him, but a sudden scratching caught her attention. She twisted around to see who it was, but Nick already saw it was Mark. He'd been watching them, but had quickly blushed and looked back down at his clipboard when the conman had seen him eavesdropping and glared at him for it.

He was only following them around like a dog. Still, he imagined the kid was eager to do something. There couldn't be much excitement on this ship, just regular chores like having to mop the place or some stupid shit like washing dishes. The longer he saw to the group of survivors, the longer he could be away from things like that no doubt. Or maybe he really had nothing else to do.

Rochelle turned back around, having a feeling of what was going on, but stayed quiet. Nick wasn't much in the mood to argue, so he didn't bother to pick up the conversation either. Instead he just sat there.

He could hear Ellis and Coach, still having their examination done. Ellis more than Coach really, but it wasn't much worth listening to. Do you have any allergies? Any previous disease or conditions? Just the typical check up crap. He chattered away happily though, confirming he was just 'fine and dandy' with each question. Nick didn't see the point of waiting and listening to this nonsense. He was done. Why couldn't he go to his room and sleep? At least a nap before dinner would have been nice.

It took another half hour of waiting for them to all be done. Nick calculated in his head they'd been there almost three hours now. Well, at least they'd had a bit of a food and cleaned off. Now all that was needed was some sleep. It had been too long since he'd had any really decent rest. Even in safe rooms, watches needed to be taken, and they were always eager to get on the move again. Too often there was only a few hours of sleep to be had, nothing but determination and the fear of being ripped apart keeping them awake and alert.

Nick saw the room and had to admit it was actually worth getting poked and prodded for the last couple hours. It looked like it was the suite for a family, two rooms actually connected by a thin door. There was only one bathroom, but it was rather large with two sinks and a bathtub and shower stall.

Mark was talking to Coach, giving him a few pieces of paper, rules, a lay out of the ship, and other things Nick couldn't care **less **about at the moment. He was glad when the guy left, more than happy to be without his company

"DAMN! We hit the jackpot!" Ellis yelled suddenly, but he wasn't attracted to the large porcelain bathroom or nice carpet, instead looking in the slightly smaller room. He had discovered a pair of bunk beds, no doubt meant for children. "Top bunk's mine! Top bunk's mine!"

Nick gave the other room a fast look over, noticing the king size mattress. It was large, but there was only one.

"Sure Ellis," he chuckled. "Have it."

Coach and Rochelle gave him a hard look. He smiled back sweetly.

"I'm on the bottom bunk then," she said immediately.

"What?!" Nick demanded. "Then that means I have to share the big one with Coach. I'm not sleeping in the same bed as a guy."

"Well I'm not sleeping in a bed with you, Nick," she replied calmly, her arms crossed. "Ellis and Coach are the only ones I can trust to behave themselves and since he already claimed the other bed-"

"All right, all right," he snapped, holding up his hands in defeat. He supposed having a damn bunk bed by himself was better than having to share one with Coach. Even if it did involve sharing a smaller room with Ellis. Well, at least the kid didn't snore in his sleep like the former teacher did. "Right now, I just want to get some sleep anyway."

Tossing aside the wrapped toothbrush and other things that had been placed on the bed for him, he fell down on to the mattress. It was big enough for him at least, and the pillow was pretty soft. It wasn't often they got beds in safe rooms, usually just concrete floors. It didn't take long for his eyes to close and slumber to claim him.

#---------#

Much too soon he felt hands shaking him awake. Groaning, Nick swatted off the offending appendages, not in the mood. He was still tired, more tired than hungry anyway. If they were waking him for dinner, he could wait for breakfast. There was no way he was leaving this bed.

"Hey man, get up," Ellis said, shaking him even harder. "Come on man. Get up."

Nick rolled over, burying his face in his pillow, but it was no good. Ellis voice had a way of piercing through his sleep easily enough. It was the same when they were in the safe rooms, or when he had been knocked unconscious at times by zombies, Ellis desperately trying to wake him in order to keep him from dying.

"What is it," he muttered, still determined not to open his eyes. "I'm not going to dinner. Too tired. Just leave me alone."

"No man, it ain't time for dinner yet," Ellis informed him. "Heck, you only been asleep fer a few hours now."

"Then give me a damn reason why you're waking me up," he snapped.

"Well, it's jus' that somebody came by an' told us you needed to head out and see yer therapist. It's time for yer appointment thingy."

At this he sat up, confused more than anything else.

"What?" he asked? "What the hell do you mean I have a fucking appointment scheduled? I was told it was tomorrow."

Ellis only shrugged, having no answers for him.

"Sorry," he said. "S'only what I was told to tell you."

Rolling his eyes at the complete lack of organization skills this place seemed to have when it was in any way convenient for him, he threw the blanket off of him and sighed.

"Fine," he said. "Thanks for waking me."

The younger man brightened a bit and Nick found himself smiling despite his bad mood. It was so odd. He found Ellis annoying as hell, yet at the same time, the kid had his charm. It was like being around a puppy. You wanted to kick it, but when it looked up at you with those damn wide eyes, all you could do was pet his head and call him a good boy. It was a cuteness no man at the age of twenty-three should have had. Not that it ever stopped Ellis from turning on the charm that Nick sometimes had to wonder if he even knew he had.

"Wan' me to go with you?" he asked, somewhere between concern and boredom. Nick only shook his head, seeing the venture as pointless.

"No," he said. "I'll go. Did they say where it was, or am I just expected to get lost?"

"Told it was on the second floor. Supposed to be room... 245. That was it," he replied after a moment pondering. "I told the person to wait fer you, but I guess they were in a hurry an' all, 'cause they didn'. Granted, guess it is prob'ly pretty busy 'round here."

"Don't worry about it," he said, standing up. "I'll find it."

"Sure you don' wan' me to come with?" Ellis asked.

"I'll be fine, Overalls," he snapped, getting a bit irritated with the over-caring attitude. "Damn it, it's not like there are zombies here. Just get some sleep or something."

He left quickly, not wanting the hick to decide to come along anyways. It would have been too annoying to have the other tag along, trying to chat his ear off. Nick took his time trying to find his way, wondering if he was really late if he could just go back and forget about the whole thing. It was their own damn fault for not being able to keep their first scheduled appointment.

Unfortunately, getting lost wasn't as easy as he hoped it would be. There was nothing but signs everywhere, directing him where to go. All for convenience factor for the other survivors on the ship, but Nick couldn't help but feel it was all to fuck with him somehow.

Finally he got to the place he was supposed to be. He didn't bother to knock, generally too pissy to bother with being polite. At this point, he wasn't even going to pretend. Whatever this dumb ass therapist was going to say was wrong with him, anger management problems was definitely going to be on top of the list.

He however didn't see a man there, like he had expected. Wasn't he suppose to have a session with a guy? Instead he saw a pair of legs propped up on a mahogany desk, shaped too nicely for words. He didn't see the woman's face, for it was certainly a woman, hidden behind a yellow folder held up by soft hands with polished nails. If Nick were a lesser man, he would have drooled. Instead he only grinned lecherously.

"I was told I was getting a Dr. Hunlock," he said smoothly, making it obvious with his tone he didn't mind the unexpected change. "But I'm guessing you're not him?"

The folder was thrown casually to the desk and Nick's eyes widened in shock, not wanting to believe what he was seeing.

"Hi Nick," the woman said sweetly, lush red lips curling into an inviting smile. She twirled with a bit of blond hair that was hanging over her shoulders, the look of a naughty doctor practically screaming off of her. "It's nice to see you again."

"Gina," he muttered, his eyes narrowing and his lips curling into a deep frown. "Just what the hell are you doing here?"

"What?" she asked. "Am I not allowed to say hello to my ex?"

End Chapter 1

DUN DUN DUN! Not expecting that, were you?

Actually, I'm surprised no one else has had the idea to torture Nick with his ex. How horrible is it that he's stuck on the same boat with her instead of getting killed? Yeah, well, the universe does seem to have it in for him, or maybe that's just me.

Oh, and when this story was first read over, some confusion was expressed over Coach's line to Ellis about his problem in high school. I'm writing this under the idea he was teaching when Ellis was in school and knew him. I know they don't actually know each other from the game since they ask for names, but considering Ellis' age and Coach was suppose to be a teacher and coach for a while now it just seemed to make more sense the other way. His comment was just stating Ellis doesn't have much control and doesn't understand why a guy might have a problem with another man naked so close to him. I can only imagine the antics he started in the locker room. Heh.

Anyway, please review and let me know what you think. Encouragement always helps me write faster.


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